Oregon Driver and Motor Vehicles Services is warning Oregonians about a new scam using fake Manufacturer Certificates of Origin to obtain titles for stolen vehicles. An MCO is a document that certifies the original ownership of a vehicle. It's issued by the manufacturer when a vehicle is produced and contains information like the make, model, year and vehicle identification number.
Crooks are creating fake VINs that appear to be legitimate and adding them to counterfeit Manufacturer Certificates of Origin created by either altering printed information on a genuine certificate or by creating a completely fake version downloaded from the internet. A fake certificate often lists the manufacturer’s name and an out-of-state dealer or distributor as the first buyer.